Are You Ready for Automated Social Media?

The future of Facebook was discussed in Harvard Business Review this week (Piskorski, Mikolaj. March 3, 2014.) "Today, we follow Facebook and update friends on our doings. In the not too distant future, predicts Mikolaj Piskorski, Facebook will follow us and call half the planet customers...Facebook [will become] a prospective medium--a dynamic, real-time driver that will automatically gather current and future information that wearable devices will automatically broadcast about us, match it with what our friends are auto-broadcasting, and then deliver recommendations on what we should do socially." This article projects what marketing must become, a useful tool, rather than an intrusive uninvited source of promotions."

You might also be interested in very recent statistics on the most commonly used social media programs and applications, posted on DMR Expanded Ramblings: (Smith, Craig. Feb. 16. 2014).

Social media "shares", whether online or in person are trusted sources for product information. Indeed Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing communications are a powerful force, since everyone who talks about your product, "likes" your Facebook page, connects with the organization through Twitter, etc. is essentially recommending the product.

People may not always say positive things about their experience, so it is up to the organization to track and manage Word of Mouth where possible, and it is very possible with online media, through such methods as Google analytics, Sprout Social, managing the opens and responses in Constant Contact and MailChimp, etc. Recency and relevancy matter in social media and online communications, so the organization needs to be sure their "positioning" message is current, and that the WoM communications include that along with the positives and negatives from "friends", "followers", visitors and buyers.

One competitive edge that all companies have nowadays is the capability to inexpensively maintain ongoing communications with markets and customers - the key to rapid response and cost-effective innovation, which actually results in products and services that are sought after. As I've said before, I believe in a dialogue model (through integrated and interactive messaging and conversations), facilitating customers and partners to discover their own reasons for using the company's products and services, and therefore owning the results. I focus on working with partners and customers to transform their concerns into shared goals. 

This means that the goal is to create a sort of Luke's Diner online --people want the guy behind the diner counter to be Luke, not a faceless corporation that they don't trust. Customers want personality, attention and fun.  

Social media and marketing, which are integral to my business as well as my classrooms, must be a strategic, planned, integrated process, for any successful business. For example, consider that Facebook and MySpace connect to other media and communication tools as integrated social media, including private messaging and public newsfeeds. Blogs (web-logs or articles) can be linked to almost any type of social media, and ideally are a tab or separate page on a website, where outside links take the visitor directly to the article.

The first step in marketing planning, as well as effective online marketing, is determining the objective - is it sales, market share, raising awareness? How will those be measured? Then, the process involves much research on the market environmental factors and market segments. Who is most likely to make a decision in favor of the marketing objective and why?

Only at the end of this process, when the research has been done to identify and forecast quantitatively what will happen in the market environment, and who and how many the target audience is, can the promotional message be developed, and the best channels and methods determined for communicating with that audience.   

Which companies that you do business with do you think are achieving the goal of marketing as a relationship building tool, rather than an intrusive messaging method? These are the ones who understand the future of marketing.

Piskorski, Mikolaj. March 3, 2014. HBR. Facebook's Future.

Smith, Craig. Feb. 16, 2014.  DMR. How Many People Use 378 of the Top Social Media
Youtube: Gilmore Girls TV Series (200-2007) Kirk's Town Tour - Luke's Diner

Marketing - A Conversation, Not a Monologue

I had a student ask this week, "What is the future of marketing?" That is definitely the $1 billion question for marketers. Marketing will continue to evolve into a social interaction that marketers have to be involved in, rather than pushing interruptive messaging out from the company. This means marketers have to incorporate audience opinion in their messaging — both negative and positive, and must provide a personal connection — not just information.

As Entrepreneur says in "Adding Value", "Instead of interrupting their day with ads or emails, advertisers must create something customers will choose to engage with...Imagine a local bank that teaches customers how to avoid fees." Like Southwest Airlines does on Twitter, or Reason Magazine does on Facebook. It is a conversation, not a monologue. It is NOT the "celebrity" posting that "I am brushing my teeth right now", but it IS about kristin_tweets at SWA telling someone on Twitter what the impacts of the weather will be for a certain flight, or that she will see them in row 14 on flight 27 if they want an extra drink coupon.

With the audience interactively in control of the messaging, everyone will need to pay attention to recency and relevancy in what the internet is showing about their "brand", whether they are a marketer for a corporation, or they are simply an individual who is out there. Marketers (and individuals) will only be able to control messaging that they themselves put out there, so the key will be to consistently be involved in the ongoing online conversation, post recent relevant information, and stay on top of what others are posting -- whether that is a "gotcha" photo on Facebook in which they have been tagged, or a press release in the local media with their name.

Chief Marketing Technologist says, in listing 5 great skills for marketers of the future, "...the real skill to have is the ability to look beyond the numbers to see the underlying patterns and trends — to coax out explanations and ideas from the endless sea of bits. This is data analysis, but as intuitive as it is analytical."

PR Squared gets it right in their recent blog..."In the future, the Web you know will be based on the Web that knows you...The reason Facebook and Google will be the long-term winners: it’s not just the fact that they have critical mass, but that that critical mass comes at a time when Social Networks are not justdestinations (a la the old AOL and MySpace), but are becoming integral to the holistic Web Experience."

What does "holistic Web experience" mean? This means that the entire internet exposure for anyone will be their "brand" — everything will be connected. Every individual, as well as every organization, will have to consider whether their total presence on the internet provides a consistent "brand" — how they are positioned in the minds of those people that search them out — friends, companies, recruiters, etc.

The product or service no longer matters — it is not features and benefits people want, but what it will do to enhance their living. Rick Robinson, an E Lab cofounder, says on FastCompany, "People use products to make meaning in their lives and make statements about who they are...Nearly all the tools of conventional marketing — focus groups, customer surveys, segmentation — are designed to measure what people think. But the secret to breakthrough innovation, E Lab believes, is understanding how people behave: what they do and how they live...don't ask people what they want, watch how they live. Let's go to the videotape!"

So, what does this mean for a marketer —get a Twitter or Facebook account for your company? The future of marketing is to create a sort of Luke's Diner online —people want the guy behind the diner counter to be Luke, not a faceless corporation that they don't trust.

Customers want personality, attention and fun. Your job as a marketer is to make your company accessible and, most of all, human.

Patients First Letter to Congress

December 17, 2009

Dear Representatives and Senators,

I urge you to oppose any legislation that imposes greater government control over my health care that would mean fewer choices for me and my family and even deny treatments to those in need. Congress must not let government get between my family and my doctor. Please protect patient freedom and expand our health care options with real reforms – focused on patients, not on politics.

The Congress is caught up in the steamrolling of initiatives that every citizen will pay for decades and lose what remains of our Bill of Rights. Every Democratic President since Roosevelt has had this agenda, and the repurcussions of this will be no different than all the social policies that are ruining us and making citizens helpless victims to government programs.

Sincerely,
Ms. Jackie E Barnett

Max Lucado - Just Like Jesus

A good friend gave me a Christmas card with the bottom paragraph of these excerpts from “Just Like Jesus” By Max Lucado. I think it is a great hope for all of us.

"God loves us. And not only does God love each of us exactly as we are, He wants us, little by little to become like Him. [We need to be reminded] just how far God will go to transform us into His likeness...

"Don’t be satisfied with angels. Don’t be content with stars in the sky. Seek him out as the shepherds did. Long for Him as Simeon did. Worship Him as the wise men did. Do as John and Andrew did: ask for His address. Do as Matthew did: invite Jesus into your house. Imitate Zacchaeus. Risk whatever it takes to see Christ.

"God rewards those who seek Him. Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself. And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. “And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB)"

Price and the Strategic Competitive Advantage

The primary job of an organization is to bring in enough revenue not only to survive, but to grow. This is the case with non-profits as well as profits.

Generally, an organization grows best by serving their customer's interests. However, this isn't to say that the customer should drive all operational and strategic choices within the organization, but that the organization should serve their target group of customers best among competing alternatives (determined by the environmental analysis), and relative to whatever the organization's strategic competitive advantage is (as determined through the SWOT analysis).

Not all customers are interested primarily in the lowest price. Also, as anyone in marketing and sales understands, focusing on providing the lowest price is the most difficult way to maintain a competitive position over time. What most customers want is value, rather than low price, and often there are other needs or interests that are more important than price or value, such as image or safety.

Thus, the strategic marketing process. It is up to the marketing group to find out where the gaps are in met versus unmet needs in their target audience, search which environmental factors will impact their marketing, and understand the strategic options available to build the best marketing mix strategies and tactics.

Life Worth Living

Saw this on a physician client's desk today...

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank accounts smaller, homes happier, the past forgotten and the future worth living."

It is the truth as I know it, looking backwards 30 years, and now seeing my children with babies...

Game-Changing Advances in Human Freedom

Last Fall, in the closing weeks of the election, Judy Shelton spoke prophetically in her article, "A Capitalist Manifesto" in the WSJ, Oct 13, 2008. Here we are, eight months down the road from her review of Nicolas Sarkozy's call for global reform, and her discussion of the principles that define honest capitalism - the values that define the character of individuals and should underpin the legitimacy of governments.

She quoted Sarkozy, speaking before Congress last November, "America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who -- with their hands, their intelligence and their heart -- built the greatest nation in the world: 'Come, and everything will be given to you.' She said: 'Come, and the only limits to what you'll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.'"

Shelton drew a picture of our history in her warnings of the future...

"You know that America's founding economic philosophy is in deep trouble when candidates for our nation's highest office refer easily to "Wall Street greed" and "predatory lenders" to explain the global financial crisis. And those are the Republicans.

"Where are the champions of free-market capitalism? Someone needs to remind us all that two great works were published in 1776, both representing game-changing advances in human freedom: The Declaration of Independence, authored by future American president, Thomas Jefferson, and "The Wealth of Nations" by Scottish economist Adam Smith. Both embrace the social wisdom of individual liberty; both extol the importance of personal responsibility.

"...If we are to build a new foundation for global financial and monetary relations...we must summon the intellectual depth and political will that can only derive from a strong sense of moral purpose."

Finding Your Way

Heard on the radio, "It's easier to act your way into a new set of feelings than to feel your way into a new set of actions."

Entrepreneuring in a Recession

"Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals." - David Ogilvy

"You're the only one who can make the difference. Whatever you dream, go for it." - Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

"Serving the needs of others is the only legitimate business today." - A.P. Giannini

I could go on. Or rather, Evan Carmichael did, in his site to provide inspiration and education for business leaders (scroll over the faces...new ones are added, so go back).

It takes at least a daily dose of inspiration for entrepreneurs to lead these days. Is it worth starting a business in this economic climate? Is it worth persevering in an enterprise you have started? My resources say that actually this is one of the best times. It is a boot-camp that sets the culture and the operations that provide for strong character and growth in a business.

"Everybody says this is a good time to start a business. Well, is it?" In Is this a good time to start a business? BNET Feb 12, 2009 , Steve Tobak weighs the pros and cons, as well as letting us know what the gurus at BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, and others have to say. "If you’ve got an idea, can get your business plan ducks in a row, can find capital, and have a long enough runway to survive until customers have money to spend, then it’s a good idea. If not, then it’s not. But that’s just me."

In the January 19, 2009 issue of BusinessWeek, Emily Thornton outlined for entrepreneurs a game plan "Managing Through a Crisis: The New Rules." "In times of turmoil, opportunities abound. But taking advantage of them will require fast reflexes, an aggressive attitude, and serious changes to the status quo."

Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith advises, "Judge less, help those who are down, focus on the future, and understand your own emotions."

What Happened to Performance?

This recession is the best thing that has happened to us in decades -- I mean it. Despite, or I'd say because of, the political and economic environment, top performers are rising out of the malaise of easy wealth, claiming their right to lead, getting beyond just surviving, and digging deep into their minds and souls to be all they can be again - innovate, develop, produce, perform.

"For the past few months you’ve had an excuse for when life didn’t go your way. . . You couldn’t pay your mortgage and your house was foreclosed on? Don’t worry, it wasn’t you, it was the recession. You lost your job and now you’re stuck at home cruising Twitter ‘looking for a new one’ all day? Don’t fret. It wasn’t you, it’s the recession. Can’t find new clients so you’re left bitterly blogging that clients suck and the frauds in the industry are stealing your dollars? Calm down, pretty, have a cookie and take a nap. It’s the recession. Actually, it’s probably not the recession. It’s probably you." I say, Right On, Lisa Barone!

In Why Your Marketing Isn't Effective (Geoffrey James) BNET Feb 5, 2009, and When Opportunity Knocks, It's Too Late (Steve Tobak) BNET Feb 3, 2009, the authors provoke readers to be proactive, tie compensation to performance, and "Sure, there other factors like technology and luck, but if you want to be successful in business, you need to take risks by acting on your own ideas and intuition. If you wait for opportunity to knock, it’ll likely be too late."

I'm looking forward to the book due out in August by Michael Beer and his HBR colleagues, High Commitment High Performance: How to Build A Resilient Organization for Sustained Advantage. "Starting with leaders who have the right values, Beer ... outlines what practitioners must do in HR, structure, systems, goals, culture, and strategy to create high-performance organizations."

Consider those words - "leaders who have the right values"...the mere fact that those words are being highly debated in this age is a huge plus for our society.

Treat your clients like a dog

I loved this conversation. It is especially appropriate for clients, but go ahead and substitute for "client"... child, spouse, co-worker, boss, friend, etc -- you get the message. Respect and affection make all your relationships go better.

"Let me describe to you what a proper customer-focused attitude is. First, you love the customer, no matter how smelly, stupid, or demented he, she, or they might be. They are your customer. You venerate them. You know that without them, there would be nothing left of you. You dream of new ways to please him, her, or them. Second, when there is a problem with your customer, you are not filled with resentment. You wrack your brains day and night to think of new ways to solve the problem. Finally, you search within yourself constantly to find pockets of anger, condescension, and negativity toward your beloved client. You root them out and replace them with respect and affection.
"The way you feel about your client should not be all that different than the way you feel about your dog."

How to Suck up to Stupid Clients BNET Feb 17, 2009

Keep on Truckin'

Keep in mind the basic keys to stability and success:

Focus on a long-term vision.
Combat fear with knowledge.
Resist emotional reactions and think logically.

And know that God's plan is bigger than yours, so trust Him.

Financial Opportunity Amid the Chaos

Twice in the past week I was in meetings where there was actual optimism about the economic future in Texas. As the saying goes, "Fear overcomes greed, and certainty overcomes fear." Regardless of political persuasion, having a fixed political team in place in Washington who have passed economic legislation is having a positive affect on local industry. Little by little, the known is overcoming the unknown, and this is allowing people to plan and move forward - especially leaders in industry.

Right now, the refinance boom - though not a great thing usually for the housing industry - is getting money flowing through the economy. Interest rates are unbelievable right now for buying houses. Prices are very low for industrial goods like cement and steel.Producers, those who have traditionally moved the economy in a positive direction, are once again seeing the opportunities in the midst of crisis, and see a narrow window in which to move forward before inflation looms over us -- at which time their strategies will change, but not their initiative in finding opportunity.

BusinessWeek author Ben Steverman wrote, in A Changed World for Financial Advisers on February 11, 2009, about the lessons learned by financial advisers through the past couple of years. In the article, the ideas to better protect and plan for clients get tied up in the debate between actively managing portfolios versus "buy-and-hold" strategies, which are less expensive and acknowledge the difficulty of timing due to the unpredictability of markets.

The article's bottom line gets back to three basics:
• risk assessment,
• emphasizing cash flow, and
• a wholistic approach to nest-egg building.

Mr. Steverman says advisers have found they should spend much more time with each client to determine an appropriate level of risk, often in spite of clients who calculate their risk-tolerance level as being higher than it actually is, especially in a downturn in the markets. He says that investment advisers are also going to have to pay more than lip service to their responsibility for their clients' total financial outlook, rather than just investment returns. Regarding retirement dreams, Steverman says that, "advisers can help clients make sure they are earning enough, saving enough, not borrowing too much, have realistic retirement plans, and have enough insurance."

I’d love to talk with you and help you navigate the options, so you can get on with the life you’d love to build. Send me a note about what you are looking for. Call me … 214-440-2483.

President Online - Managing Perceptions with Technology

Last November, Tom Hayes and Michael S Malone convicted traditional marketers in their challenge to retailers regarding the "profound changes" in marketing requiring the use of online communities. They said, "Marketing 3.0 is not only different from its predecessors, but actively undermines them. If your marketing program fails to adapt to this new world, it won't just become irrelevant -- it will actually work against you."

Though many before Barack Obama used new technology in politics to communicate and track and measure response, our new president has made using the latest communication technologies and online communities standard protocol - not only for his political campaign, but going forward in determining public policy.

As Hayes and Malone said in their November 29th WSJ article, "The online community concept is already becoming a powerful tool for everything from creating customer loyalty, to assistance in product design, to a sounding board for company strategy."

Over the next several years, we will get an opportunity to see how this methodology works in answering Obama's statement, "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."

In his January 22, 2009, WSJ article on whether economics, like politics, can be accurately "explained and charted," Daniel Henninger observed that Obama's "economic team consists of a new generation of so-called data-driven intellectuals who insist on reasonably hard empirical support for their policies."

Henninger also remarked that, "the cost of mistakes is getting a bit high," which is another reason that Obama is pushing his team to use every means to continue to gather information before finalizing policy. This includes staging and tracking blog discussion on his administration's theories, such as the recent "Who is Nouriel Roubini?" by Alice C. Chen posted in a January 7 BNET Briefing. Responses to the blog ranged from critical analysis of the posed economic policy debate, to recommendations for other theories and financial experts.

Using technology in this way effectively gauges and gathers public opinion, but using online communities and blogs also SHAPE public opinion. Obama's team will need to continually be interfacing with these online communities in all of the media channels to effectively continue the swaying of public opinion toward his policies, as he was able to do during the campaign.

In the January 23 Business Week "What Data Crunchers Did for Obama", Stephen Baker indicates that however public opinion is gathered, quantified, segmented, the policy promises that were made will also be tracked and measured. "Even if Barn Raisers exist as a tribe only in a database, they take broken promises very seriously. And they probably won't object if data-mining politicians figure that out. "

This week the DFW Interactive Marketing Association is holding a forum regarding the role of social networking, mobile marketing, video, and other emerging media in the recent Presidential election, and the discussion will continue...

Become a Toothache Marketer

When you have a toothache, it's all you think about. If it's not the pain, it's the fear.

When your target audience is being bombarded with messages about and/or experiencing the effects of a financial crisis, that is all they think about.

Under these conditions, how can you get your prospects to hear and focus on your message? How can you continue to grow prospects into converted buyers?

1. Sell solutions.
Focus on the customer, not the economy.

Everyone is looking for solutions - ways to increase value - and take away the pain. Right now, toothache marketers are in the money - people are looking for solutions to minimize the effects of the crisis. Just make sure your "crisis message" isn't going to make you invisible when there is no crisis.

As described in My Tooth Doesn't Hurt, Seth Godin's Blog, July 31, 2008, toothaches are a double-edged sword for "toothache" marketers...when someone has a toothache, they have no trouble getting conversions, but when there are no toothaches, dentists and other toothache marketers are invisible.

Become the obvious choice, whether or not there is a toothache.

2. Be innovative.
Everyone gets better in a down market.

As Seth Godin said in "My Tooth Doesn't Hurt", "create new products and services that build engagement and revenue among members of the population that aren't in pain...such as teeth whitening."

But be truly creative. "There are only two things riskier than being innovative: being gimmicky and doing nothing." Online Marketers Can Weather the Financial Crisis, FutureNow, October 10, 2008.

"Creative merchandising, creative buying, creative offers, creative marketing, creative cost-cutting, and creative customer-relationship-building will make a difference between who thrives and who dives...I'm talking about offering customers more perceived value at less cost to them and you. I'm talking about finding innovative ways to cut through the clutter of our media-crazy environment and the pain people are feeling from this crisis by increasing message relevance and spending less...that involves much more than screaming louder, telling a funnier joke, or changing the color of the "buy now" button."

3. Become efficient.
Don't think you are immune. Become bulletproof.

Bryan Eisenberg continues in the October 10, 2008 FutureNow blog, "Your customers are already acting more efficiently. You should too."

"The more you master the craft of doing more for less, the more secure you'll be in the coming months. Don't try to do three jobs with one person until that person begs for mercy. Instead, make marketing dollars go much, much further. That includes cutting fat from marketing budgets and creating a culture of marketing optimization that leaves no penny unturned. It takes work, but it will bulletproof you internally with the bosses and externally with the customers."

4. Become a leader.
Regardless of whether you are in charge.

From an Interview with Seth Godin regarding his new book "Tribes" at http://www.gapingvoid.com/, October 8, 2008, "Everyone isn't going to be a leader. But everyone isn't going to be successful, either."

"Success is now the domain of people who lead. That doesn't mean they're in charge, it doesn't mean they are the CEO, it merely means that for a group, even a small group, they show the way, they spread ideas, they make change. Those people are the only successful people."

Cold Calling and the Elevator Pitch

Knowing your market's interests, opinions, and behaviors - much more than knowing age and location - and communicating a message that engages your audience relative to their persona, is still key to succeeding, even in an entrepreneur economy.

Since the turn of the millenium, people have been moving to self-employment in huge numbers. Driven by new technologies and a series of economic downturns - leaders who are underemployed, unemployed, or are, as discussed in a 2006 USA Today article, simply fed up with the cost of labor, are starting their own businesses. Over the past decade this emerging "entrepreneur economy" has been changing the paradigms and protocols for doing business. However, much of what it takes to succeed remains the same.

These business start-ups are most often a micro-business made up of one self-employed sole proprietor with a dream. Yet, starting up a business takes more than a great idea, as all of these entrepreneurs have learned. High on the list are "guts" and perseverance. It also takes soul-searching and self-evaluation to identify strengths and skills that provide a sustainable competitive advantage. This is called "market research" and "business planning" - which many skip over until they are floundering and need to get back to basics.

In books like Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers (1991, revised 1999), by Geoffrey A. Moore, and Stage-Gate method books by Robert G. Cooper, including Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch, Third Edition, strategists describe many keys to success, but all say that producing specific to the interests of your market is fundamental to succeeding in business. This goes for companies of any size, including a small organization made up of one.

As data pours in from new communication technologies, marketers are finding that demographics hardly matter in defining buying behaviors. Yesterday, Bryan Eisenberg, said that demographics "are only loosely correlated to behavior and often horrible in predicting marketing response" in The Case for Persona-Based Lead Generation,

So, how does this tie in with cold calling and your elevator pitch? Knowing your customer's psychographics well enough to empathetically tell them how you can make a difference is critical to moving forward in business.

Robert Gerrish, Aug 5, 2008, BNET makes this connection more specifically - "The need for cold calling frequently accompanies the launch of a new business, or the launch of a new offering" and "trying to sell a product or service to an unknown and unqualified prospect can be so confronting that it’s easy to get frozen into a state of inaction."

This brings us to the "so what" - what actions you personally can take as an entrepreneur.

• First, use the technology to know your prospects. Use the multitude of outsourcing resources developed in this "entrepreneur economy" to compile and test your message. Some examples are listed in an earlier Finding the Upside blog post.
  
• Second, tool your message down to a very few words that are "designed to pull the prospect into the story" as described in How to Rewrite an Elevator Pitch

Focusing Resources

This is a pretty good video clip, if you have 30 seconds.
Focusing - Something I really find particularly difficult.
Seth Godin on knowing when to quit...

Marketing to 21st Century Buyers

I just read a WSJ commentary on another book that "discovers" what marketing is about.

Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, By Rob Walker, (Random House, 291 pages, $25)

In the WSJ article (which also relates stats and discoveries about the new marketing successes written about in the book, which discusses whether buyers can be "bought" by a brand), a buried comment says...

"The most powerful sales campaigns, Mr. Walker says, get their hooks into the consumer's "interpreter," a term he borrows from psychologists to describe the rationalizing corner of the brain. And the stimuli to which 21st-century interpreters respond, it seems, are those that signal authenticity, identity and community."

My question is, how new or different is this discovery? Is what consumer's respond to these days really that unique from any other decade?

Meetup Tore Up the Rule Book

I love Meetup.com. It is where the virtual world intersects with the real world. It is where, with absolutely anything you are interested in, you can find others also interested - and actually get together - meet up!

When I first started into the recent BusinessWeek article about Meetup, the news was contrary to my paradigm of Meetup. There was a management revolt - how can that happen in what I saw as a small, flexible, virtual organization? I didn't fathom how big - and structured - the company was.

I couldn't see Meetup as a "corporation" - as a structured organization. Apparently, neither could the managers. One of the managers stormed into the CEO's office and wrote on the whiteboard, "I hate the org chart!"

"Meetup is a company built on organization. Through its Web site, people can set up local groups for everything from sharing organic gardening tips online to marshaling volunteers for political campaigns. But as the company grew to 52 employees and 5 million members, Meetup's own organization buckled. It was failing at the very thing that was supposed to be its expertise."

As a result of that whiteboard messaging (interesting visual, considering the digital nature of Meetup) the company is in the process of implementing chaos. Inspired by the customer, no less!! Meetup is implementing a strategy where workers pick their projects and set their own priorities.

And here is the bottom line - or so far the bottom line...

"We got more done in six weeks than in six months last year," says CEO Scott Heiferman, who expects the projects to boost revenues tenfold, to $100 million, by 2010.

"Meetup's approach isn't for everyone. But for managers, especially those responsible for younger workers with attitudes and expectations so different from those of earlier generations, the experiment holds lessons: Giving up control can lead to better results. Your workers may have better ideas than you. Gary Hamel, who wrote The Future of Management, predicts more companies will adopt flexible organizations to accommodate Internet Age workers and profit from their skills. "With information so broadly shared now, the sources of influence and power are eroding," he says. Companies already using such approaches include Whole Foods Market (WFMI), and W.L. Gore & Associates, the $2 billion maker of Gore-Tex."